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I am new to forum today- please forgive if I post this in worng place or way, thanks.
My boy, Caleb Luis, is aprox 3 yr old Black&Tan Coonhound/mix ( lab?!), has been with me one year and is rescue from shelter.
He came with MUCH neurosis (click table lamp ONCE and he cowers and slinks through house for several DAYS) that we have worked through and has now found his inner dogliness which is at once a blessing and a curse.
Being above difficult to train as he would not take treats from hand or floor, clicker drove him to duck and run and hands-on was not an option for the first 6 months, I am now the proud dog mom of a somewhat spirited and head strong teenage hound boy that makes his own rules! (He has learned sit, wait and come from watching my other dog)
We walk every day, we visit dog park 3-5 times a week, he lives with built in playmate, ShoutAnthony ( 5yr ish hound/lab mix) and they get along great, he has fenced in 1/2 acre with free choice doggie door to in/out of house 24/7.
Granted with winter set in the "hollar", sometimes it is diffiult to get out and walk so we substitute rough indoor play with ball and wrestling and "toy-search") when we can't walk outdoors.
Anywho- the point being, now that he has discovered his dogliness, he feels less inhibited and has taken to digging under fence to let himself out ONLY WHEN I AM NOT HOME.
The first time he left, he was gone- far! Took an hour of calling and traipsing through woods and driving over the hills and back before he came home. All subsequent trips he comes home within 5 minutes of me arriving and calling for him.
Recently, we no sooner get the last hole blocked up with heavy stones than he is escaped again from freshly dug hole in a different place. It is now a daily occurance- he has honed his digging skills to a T!
Running free is NOT an option here...unscrupulos folks set wildlife traps ( we have several tri-pod dogs in the hollow), hunters will shoot any dog that disturbs their quarry and Caleb is not yet where he will approach a stranger if lost...
I don't know how to keep him from digging out....I just don't know what to do to keep him safe. :dunno:
As a very last resort, I have purchased all the paraphenalia to hook up an electric fence at the base of their fence outside, the idea being to try to relate (as closely as possible) digging at fence line with negative results.
I have not yet put it out there and I don't want to. IF I do put it out there, I will force myself to touch it first before I subject my dog to it. If I can't handle it, I won't leave it up for Caleb.
Can anyone offer any other helpful suggestions to keep him from digging so I don't have to put up the wire??!
- He only digs out when I am not home, training still requires heavy creativity and thought as he still does not take treats from hand readily and the clicker is still not an option for training, though many of his issues are subsiding as he grows into his own courage- we are just not there yet.
He's a pickle of a boy, but I just love him!
Thanks in advance for helpful suggestions!
My boy, Caleb Luis, is aprox 3 yr old Black&Tan Coonhound/mix ( lab?!), has been with me one year and is rescue from shelter.
He came with MUCH neurosis (click table lamp ONCE and he cowers and slinks through house for several DAYS) that we have worked through and has now found his inner dogliness which is at once a blessing and a curse.
Being above difficult to train as he would not take treats from hand or floor, clicker drove him to duck and run and hands-on was not an option for the first 6 months, I am now the proud dog mom of a somewhat spirited and head strong teenage hound boy that makes his own rules! (He has learned sit, wait and come from watching my other dog)
We walk every day, we visit dog park 3-5 times a week, he lives with built in playmate, ShoutAnthony ( 5yr ish hound/lab mix) and they get along great, he has fenced in 1/2 acre with free choice doggie door to in/out of house 24/7.
Granted with winter set in the "hollar", sometimes it is diffiult to get out and walk so we substitute rough indoor play with ball and wrestling and "toy-search") when we can't walk outdoors.
Anywho- the point being, now that he has discovered his dogliness, he feels less inhibited and has taken to digging under fence to let himself out ONLY WHEN I AM NOT HOME.
The first time he left, he was gone- far! Took an hour of calling and traipsing through woods and driving over the hills and back before he came home. All subsequent trips he comes home within 5 minutes of me arriving and calling for him.
Recently, we no sooner get the last hole blocked up with heavy stones than he is escaped again from freshly dug hole in a different place. It is now a daily occurance- he has honed his digging skills to a T!
Running free is NOT an option here...unscrupulos folks set wildlife traps ( we have several tri-pod dogs in the hollow), hunters will shoot any dog that disturbs their quarry and Caleb is not yet where he will approach a stranger if lost...
I don't know how to keep him from digging out....I just don't know what to do to keep him safe. :dunno:
As a very last resort, I have purchased all the paraphenalia to hook up an electric fence at the base of their fence outside, the idea being to try to relate (as closely as possible) digging at fence line with negative results.
I have not yet put it out there and I don't want to. IF I do put it out there, I will force myself to touch it first before I subject my dog to it. If I can't handle it, I won't leave it up for Caleb.
Can anyone offer any other helpful suggestions to keep him from digging so I don't have to put up the wire??!
- He only digs out when I am not home, training still requires heavy creativity and thought as he still does not take treats from hand readily and the clicker is still not an option for training, though many of his issues are subsiding as he grows into his own courage- we are just not there yet.
He's a pickle of a boy, but I just love him!
Thanks in advance for helpful suggestions!